Sole for footwear.



LE BARON C. COLT.

SOLE FOR FOOTWEAR.

APPLICATION yFILED APR. 6. 1915.

Patented Sept. 12, 1916.

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LE BARON C. CQLT, 0F BRISTOL,

SOLE FOR FOOTWE 1:!

manera.

1:9 l SLAND, SSIGNOR TO NTIONAL INDIA RUBBER SOMPY, COORATION-OIIF la is ODE ISLAND.

l Specicatiers Patent. lpammedjept jpg, 191,6

Application :tiled April 6, 1915. Serial No. 19,604. j

To all whom t may concern v Be it known that ll, Ln BARN C. COLT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bristol, in the county of Bristol, State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and use- 'ful Improvements in Soles for Footwear, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to that class of footwear that is made of rubber or of rubber combined with fabric or other fibrous materials such as rubberv boots and overshoes, rubber sole canvas shoes,'-tennis shoes, dancing shoes, etc.

The object of my invention is to provide a sole for such an article of footwear, which will have all the advantages as t0 comfort, pleasing shape and durability that pertain to the soles of shoes made of leather or canvas, without the disadvantageslincident to rubber shoes or rubber sole canvas shoes as heretofore manufactured.

sneaker' it will be appreciated that the Sole does not project beyond the upper and that the sole is joined to the upper by means of what is known in the art as foxing, which is a thin Vstrip of rubber extending from a line on the side of the shoe above the sole down to the point of juncture with the sole where it uniteswith a similar strip extending upwardly from the sole, so that the sole has no projecting welt portion to receiveand Support the lateral expansion of the upperA during the tread, the edge of the sole being flush with the sides of the upper. lThis construction also results in a shoe which-is more or less crude and unsightly in appearance and one that is not adapted for use where more formal dress is required than a mere neglige costume. y

Although thel invention may find its stiening-member in the form of a welt or welt sole which may be easily and securely attached to the'upper and which may have applied to it a 'tap sole of rubber or similar material.4 This is accomplished in my invention without the use of foxing and without the necessity of buing or otherwise trimming the edgesnf the sole which in any event 1s impracticable because a rough raw edge isl given to the finished article.

For a detailed description of two forms of my invention reference may behad to the following specificationA and to the" accompanymg drawing forming a part thereof, in which--" i v v Figure 1 is a perspectivefview of a shoe or pump made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the sole portionthereof, detached; and Figs. 3 and l are transverse sectional views through the ball or toe portion of a shoe illustrating v- -two modifications in construction. lln the ordlnary rubber sole tenms shoe or Referring to the drawing the numeral 1 indicates the usual upper of a shoe composed of canvas, fabric coated with rubber or even leather. The numeral 2 indicates the welt or stiffening sole and 3 the tap sole.

The stifening sole may be composed of layers of frictioned fabric l on each side of a central layer or member 5 of hard curing rubber compound, suchl as vulcanizable rubber and liber or fiber board, preferably consisting of what is known in the art as rag stock such as that resulting from macerated frictioned fabric or rubber shoe clippings or trimmings. This element is then cut by a die to the final shape of the sole and a strip 6of unvulcanized rubber is applied all around the edge of the stiieningelement, thus forming a rounded welt. This welt sole thus being made independently of the other parts of the shoe is then coated with cement along p of friction fabric 8 applied between the.

layer 7 and the insole 9. 'llhe tap sole 3 is i -Which isl alsovery durable, as it has 'been then cemented to the welt solef and the Shoe thus assembled is lplaced in "the vheater 'for vulcanizer 'and' vulcanizedor cured. s :l

before described, except thatV the intermediate layer of rubberfbefore indicated'by the numeral 7 -is made somewhat thicker to'fill up the space made by cuttingv away the welt sole between the margins 10 as at 7. Of

course vit willbe understood that the `stienyl ing element may be made of any suitablema terial. "s l, p

The constructions abovedescribed result in a shoe that is 'not only pleasing in appearance, comfortable -to the wearer,- but found that the upper is very firmly united to the Welt sole bythe method employed 1 as abovedescribed; andmoreover, the construction provides a welt extension lofrelatively rigid character, protecting the upper and forming a 'support to receive the of; the tread during Wear.l y

An important advantage incident to the. constructions abovedescrlbed results inthe improved appearance when the same is used in the manufacture vof shoes having White rubber soles. As is well knovvn,l it is dil cult to vulcanize White rubber stock to the same` degree of stiffness ,that can .be obtained with dark or black rubber stock, unj less a large amount of sulfur is used which causes the White rubber to turn yellow or havea stained appearance,

When the constructions above described are employed the stifening member may be made of dark rubber stock capable of'being creased wearing'- more `s`ightly.

pressure 'I f rounded Welt. t

einem vulcanized toa high degree of hardness, -andvvhen the edges thereof are covered with softlwhite rubber stock, the welt as it apy pears in the finished shoe will be white and clean. This advantage 1s in ad-4 perfectly dition to the increased binding effect of the .lsoft rubber" strip or Welt.` The method of bindingrthestiffening' member also produces f rounde'dvvelt Which is highly Jornamental l to the. edge `0f the'sole.

llt-s obvious-thatin a shoe designed for unusually'rough use the Welt sole may be stitched to' the upper internally ifdesired.

' I .believe that/I am the first' one to have producedv shoes of the type shown in the vdrawing with projecting soles which can be `made' entirelyl of rubber or rubber and cam vas' or Which have-al1 the outward appearlance and surface characteristics of leather soled shoes with al1 the advantages of rigidity along the Welt p ortion comprising inqualitles andl incomparably f Having` described. my invention what I -claim and desire to protect by Letters,y Patent- 1. Ay Welt sole for alrubber sole shoe, comprisingA a layer of relatively hard rubber compound, and a stripvof soft rubber covering the margins thereof. and forming a 2. A lWelt sole for a rubber sole shoe, comprising a layerof relatively hard rubber composition covered with fabric, and a strip 'of soft' rubber covering the margins thereof a and forming a rounded Welt;

3. A'vvelt sole for a rubber sole shoe, comprising a layer of relatively hard rubber 'composltion consisting of mixed-fibers and rubber compound, and a strip of soft rubber covering the margins thereof and forming a 5 rounded welt.

signed at Bristol. Rhode island, April LE BARON o. coLT. 

